Railway-gate



(No Model.)

I. WHISMAN.

RAILWAY GATE.

Patented June 25 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ISAAC \VHISMAN, OF STOVERS SHOPS, VIRGINIA.

RAILWAY-GATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 405,814, dated June 25, 1889.

Application filed March 30, 1889. Serial No. 305,425. (No model.)

To all whom it nut/y concern.-

Be it known that I, ISAAC WHIsMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Stovers Shops, in the county of Augusta and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in RailwayGates; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, an d exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in railway-gates; and it has for its object to improve generallyin construction and render more effective and certain in operation that class of automaticallyoperated gates which are intended specially for use at road-crossings and at points at which fences intersect the line of the railroad, and which are intended for use in lieu of the ordinary cattle-guards in preventing cattle or other animals from venturing upon the track.

The further and more immediate object of the present invention is to provide a gate of the character described the slats or palings of which will normally occupy a raised or vertical position, thus offering a barrier to its passage, and which will be thrown down so as to occupy a horizontal position between the rails of the road upon the approach of a moving train, and will be again returned to a Vertical position immediately after the train has passed.

To the above ends and to such others as the invention may attain the same consists in the peculiar combinations and in the novel construction, arrangement, and adaptation of parts, all as more fully hereinafter described, shown in the appended drawings, and then specifically defined in the claims.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which, with the letters of reference marked thereon, form a part of this specification, like letters of reference indicating like parts throughout the several views, in which drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view of my gate as it appears when in actual use and in a raised or closed position. Fig. 2 is a plan View in which the gate is shown as open or in .a horizontal position.

Reference now being had to the details of the drawings by letter, A represents the rails, and B the ties, of an ordinary railway road-bed.

O G are transverse timbers which are placed at proper distances apart between the ties at the point at which it is proposed to erect the gate. These timbers are slightly longer than the railway-ties proper, and their ends are connected by means of the timbers D D.

E is a shaft which extends transversely across the road-bed beneath the rails A, the ends of this shaft being suitably journaled within the timbers D. Secured to this shaft and adapted to turn with the same are the timbers F and F projecting from the upper faces of which timbers are the palings or pickets G, while the lower face of the central timber F is provided with the casting or Weighted portion H, said weight being extended beneath the shaft and tending to hold the gate in a vertical or closed position, as will be readily understood.

J J are strips of either wood or metal which are pivotally attached at their lower ends to the ties, preferably by means of the heavy wires L, while the free ends of the said timbers, which are cut so as to form the enlarge ments or heads K, rest upon the frictionrollers K upon the upper edge of the timber F at its ends adjacent to the rails. It will thus be seen that the timbers J, one upon each side of the gate, are each arranged adjacent to and parallel with the rails A, one upon the inner side of one of the rails, and the other adjacent to the opposite rail, but upon the other side of the gate.

M are guides of either wood or metal and of any suitable construction, the office of these guides being to prevent possible accidental horizontal displacement of the timbers J.

The-operation of the gate is simple and will be easily understood from the foregoing description; but, as an illustration, we will suppose that the gate is in a closed position,

as indicated in Fig. 1. Upon approaching the gate the wheels of the engine or car operate upon one or the other of the timbers J, (the timber acted upon depending, of course,

upon the direction in which the train is moving,) and the downward pressure upon the timber serves to turn the gate downward and hold the same in a horizontal position until the train has passed, when the weight being removed from the timbers J, the free ends of the timbers are raised from contact with the block or timber F at the base of the gate, and the same is returned to avertical position by the weighted portion H beneath the shaft E.

To insure the throwing down of the gate in case the levers J K from any cause should fail to operate, Iprovide the arms N, pivoted at their lower ends, as at n, to the ties, and arranged to stand normally in an upright position, as shown. These arms N are connected with the timber F by means of the rods 0, pivotally secured at one end, as at 0, to said timber, and at the other to the arms N between their ends, as shown, all being arranged in such a manner that the cow-catcher of the engine in striking the arms N shall cause the gate to turn down, as will be readily understood.

Having thus described my inven tipn, what I claim to be new is- 1. The combination, with the rails and ties,

of the levers J J, pivoted at one end to the ties, the gate pivoted, as described, and the rollers journaled on the gate with the free ends of the levers resting thereon, substantially as shown and described.

2. The combination,with the rails and ties, of the levers J J, pivoted at one end to the ties, the gate pivoted, as described, the rollers journaled on the gate with the free ends of the levers resting thereon, and the wire guides for the levers secured to the ties, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with the rails, ties, and

transverse gate pivoted, as described, of the rollers journaled on said gate, the guidesM on the ties, and the levers J J, pivoted atone endand enlarged at the other with the enlarged ends bearing on the said rollers, substantially as shown and described, and for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ISAAC VVHISMAN.

Witnesses:

W. 0. Common, W. J. COLLINS. 

